Officials search for mountain lion blamed in man's death

SILVER CITY — The search continued Monday for a cougar in the Pinos Altos area believed responsible for the death of 55-year-old Robert Nowojski.

Nowojski's body was found early Friday morning some 75 yards from his home at 4822 State Road 15, Space 1, on the east side of Pinos Altos. Nowojski had been missing since possibly as early as Tuesday and New Mexico State Police officials said last week that Nowojski's body showed signs of an animal attack.

Leon Redman, district supervisor with New Mexico Game and Fish, said Monday that the cat had not been found and game officers were continuing the search with hounds.

"If anyone sees the lion in the area, give us a call," he said.

It is believed that a Game and Fish officer wounded the large cat with a shotgun Thursday evening when Search and Rescue crews arrived at Nowojski's house and the lion would not leave the area.

Sgt. Andy Tingwall, spokesman for New Mexico State Police, said it is unclear when the results of an autopsy from the Office of the Medical Investigator may be available. It is hoped the autopsy can prove if Nowojski was killed by the mountain lion or died of other causes.

Fear of the large cat has increased in Pinos Altos since the incident. Area resident Kariann Sokulsky said she and several other parents in the area met Sunday to discuss safety for their children.

"We are being extra cautious," she said.

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"It is not a good way to live when you literally have to tell your children there is a mountain lion out there and they have to stay with an adult or can't go outside."

Sokulsky said concern was also high that residents of Pinos Altos have been feeding deer, thus drawing the big cat closer to homes. Rumors also continued to spread Monday that at least one person in the area had been feeding the cougar.

"There is probably more than one person contributing to an inappropriate level of risk for us all," Sokulsky said. "According to Game and Fish, it is illegal to feed deer to the degree they become nuisance, and that is certainly what seems to have happened in Pinos Altos."

Redman said Game and Fish officers are investigating both reports of residents feeding the deer and the cougar. It is unclear what charges the person responsible for feeding the lion may face, but an involuntary manslaughter charge may be a possibility.

Bob Pelham, a resident of Pinos Altos and locally known photographer, said news that the lion was being fed by someone trying to capture pictures of it has had the finger of blame pointed in his direction.

"People who know of me are going to logically think of me as the person who was feeding the mountain lion," he said. "Several people called me after reading the paper, they were suspicious that I was the guy feeding the mountain lion."

Pelham said he is not the person that has been feeding the mountain lion, but said other residents in the area do have a suspect.

Dennis Miller with the Gila Wildlife Rescue — a private, non-profit animal rescue run by Miller and wife, Denise — said that people feeding deer in Pinos Altos and even in Silver City can potentially bring in the large cats and other predators and threaten human safety.

"It is certainly true that when people bring in deer by basically baiting them in for their own enjoyment, they are also going to bring in the deers' predators," he said. "While we would hope mountain lions would be afraid of people, in drought times, they could be brought in where they can have more contact with humans."

Miller said he has heard of several reports in the last couple of years of a mountain lion sighted in the Dos Griegos and Indian Hills subdivisions north of Silver City.

"The mountain lion sightings in town are getting more and more common," he said. "I really think it is about time we determine if it is on a county or state basis to outlaw feeding certain wildlife. We need to make it illegal and educate the public on why. It is becoming a human problem we need to address to prevent anyone else getting hurt or killed."